


Villain Syndrome(1)

by Bloody_Princess



Series: The Mutant Chronicles [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Adult Content, Alternate Universe - Mutants, Canonical Character Death, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Developing Friendships, Dissociation, F/M, Family Drama, Harm to Children, Loss of Innocence, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mutant Rights, Past Sexual Abuse, Pre-Relationship, Private School, Rewrite, Secret Organizations, Slow Build, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-03-07 07:43:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13430106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bloody_Princess/pseuds/Bloody_Princess
Summary: The world now has two superior races, humanity and mutant kind. Nobody knows when they where born or where they came from but all they do know is that only one side can stay on top. Jasper Mallory is disgusted by the fact he'll never be able to be truly human, with the decay his powers cause hanging over his head.





	1. Prologue

_They're dead."_

_Theodore's face was ashen as he felt all the blood drain out of his body. He sunk into his armchair with a defeated gasp of air desperate to escape the harsh reality that had come down upon his body. He didn't want to believe his deputy's words but he knew there was no way he could deny it. Soon enough he would be forced to see their bodies and hold onto their cold little hands. Tears gathered in his eyes and he didn't even bother to stop them from falling._

_He had failed them. He had failed them all. The weight of his mistakes crushed him and he clenched his fists in agony. Sobs wracked his body as he pictured the children's wide eyes and hopeful smiles when he greeted them with open arms. There was no way to deny it he had loved them as if they where his own._

_His own children had died and he was the cause. Or at least one of them. Had the blood of their parents splatter on their_ _nightgown's_ _that night? Did they only cry out for him in a fit of pain and terror? Theodore gave a shutter and opened eyes feeling them burn. He wanted to hold them one last time in his arms. Like any would he begged openly for forgiveness even if they could no longer hear his voice._

 _Across from him sat his deputy a young stoic woman with a piercing gaze. She didn't seem that affected by outburst with the exception of the slight gape in her mouth. A small headband_ _binded_ _her long brown hair but besides that she was plain. Glimmers of emotion gleamed in her blank eyes and he thought that it was pity. Scratching her head she let out a breath._

_"Sir..." She spoke in a soft whisper of a voice, delicate but firm demanding you pay attention. "I presume you had a relationship with the victims?"_

_More then a simple relationship. The thought of defining his involvement in the horrific crime made his stomach turn and palms sweat. As if he where in a fever induced dream of sorts he felt his body begin to sweat profusely. Guilt. Sadness. Remorse. All at once he felt it all._

_He set his hands on the table clasped to avoid clawing at his skin. "Yes I did. They where the children I had saved ten years ago on my first day in this department. I visited them years afterwords, helping them threw physical therapy, bringing them candy, I loved them as if they where my own."_

_He stopped abruptly and wiped at his forehead which was now drenched in sweat. Looking up he noticed his deputy had a pained look on her face as if she were holding herself back. Trimmed nails played with the ends of her hair as she looked at her lap deep in thought. He wondered dully if she blamed him like he did or if she even understood what he was telling her._

_"Sir. If I may ask...if they where like blood to you why didn't any of them just give in? Why didn't they turn their selves in to the authorities knowing you'd protect them?"_

_"Would you turn yourself if you knew death was certain?" He said holding his head in his hand the other on his leg._

_She blinked looking shocked for a split second before taking in a breath and becoming a calm blank slate again. It didn't surprise him that she thought it was right for the mutant kind to turn themselves in only to be subjected to cruel experiments under the guise of a cure. They weren't sick but like everyone else in the world with eyes and ears they had been taught to believe so._

_"If it would save someone else's life then yes." She said her voice becoming tense and her fingers clenching. She had become nervous and he knew he shouldn't try to push it any further._

_Would children dying save humanity or what remained of it?_ __Even if they where the cold hearted monsters that society labeled them as he wouldn't be able to pull the trigger when meeting their eyes. Not in this life or the next would he be able to kill a child in cold blood. His chest tightened just by making it a possibility.__

__"Sir?" His deputy said putting a hand on his shoulder knocking him out of whatever trance he had been in. "You starting to look a little pale. I think you need to take a leave from this case."_ _

_He wanted to protest but he knew she was right. Just because he had lost a few of the children didn't mean he had the right to jeopardize the rest due to his emotions. Setting his hand on_ _her's_ _he removed it from his shoulder and looked her straight in the eye. If there was anyone he could trust with this case he knew it could be her. Six years of working together had taught him that._

_"You're right. I want you to take over the case for me." He held up a hand stopping her outburst. "You know that I'm connected to this case personally now. I don't want anyone else to know that. I know I can trust you to not let anyone control your decisions London."_

_The Albanian woman nodded her head albeit stiffly. A wave of relief went through Theodore's body as he knew that she would do it. Everyone in the area knew how stubborn the woman could be when she wanted to and her respect for those who listened to logic over reason._

_Reaching into his desk's drawer he pulled out a thick black folder and sat it in front of her. In the folder where the continents of six years of research and even more time spent on with witnesses. Superhuman children weren't a oddity to him anymore but a mass production. Everyday more and more where born meaning more to save._

_More to protect._

**_"This is where you'll start."_ **


	2. Issue One: Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another life

**Chapter One:**

_The first thing he felt, was the cold. His entire body was shaking in tremors and his eyelids felt as if they had been glued shut. Little slivers of ice sat on his frostbitten fingers and his mouth tasted like blood. The boy panted as his heart dropped at the sound of the door opening and slamming shut. He had to get free. He couldn't let them...test him ever again. At least for as long he was still alive._

_It was hard to ignore it with the ache of his failing lungs and weakened body. Despite the emense amount of training he had undergone during his time with the others he was still going to die here. The men at the facility had been stronger than he thought and easily overpowered him. It didn't help that they had **him** on there side. A faint blush came up on his face at the thought of the mutant's murky eyes that once had lighted up the dark abyss he called life and his chest burned. _

_His fingers began to curl and he whimpered. To his horror he couldn't feel a spark of power come to them, it was as if the surge of darkness he had once mastered was dried up inside of his soul, unable to be reached even in the most dire of situations. A feeling of loss came over him and he let out a weak sob. He couldn't a time he had felt so helpless so alone in years. It was like he was a weak child again and this time there was no one to save him._

_Sadly he still felt the urge to save **him** **.** The boy had become a part of him and he didn't want to believe everything they felt for one another was just another test. Just the thought of that being a possibility made him want to scream at the top of his lungs. Some might call him a fool for thinking like this but what they had felt hadn't been just fling or mistake. It had been something special, destined by the stars themselves._

_And he just wanted to tell **him** that he was sorry. He wanted for the boy with the dark one inside of him, the boy t-_

•×

Jasper woke up from the dream with tears in his eyes. A sigh left his lips as he wiped at his face with the back of his hands and got up from his bed. This was the fifth time in a row he had that dream and the second time he woke up from it crying. He didn't remember anything about it whenever he woke up only that the boy felt eerily familiar and it disturbed him.

A small part of him felt like writing it down in the small journal he had gotten recently but he decided not to. It was mostly for therapy sessions and he didn't think it'd be a great idea to let his therapist know he was having strange dreams about dying. The journal felt like sand paper in his hands, rough at it's frayed edges, the leather spine stretched and cracked, it's pages where torn at some parts.

Jasper set it back down and pulled on a hoodie from off the floor. He was to lazy to put on some actual school clothes so the hoodie and sweat pants he wore to sleep would have to do. The house smelled like fried eggs when he cracked open his room door causing his stomach to sour. He hadn't planned on skipping breakfast again but today he felt like if he ate anything he'd throw it back up.

The uncomfortable feeling in his stomach was still there by time he padded down to the kitchen his bare feet hitting the ice cold wooden floor. It had been snowing since the beginning of the week so the entire house was freezing cold without any heat. Not that Jasper minded, he had always been strangely okay with being in the bitter cold.

His mother stood in front of the oven with her long hair swooped up in a messy ponytail. Without even looking he knew that she had heard him come in behind her and would bombard him with questions about his diet and how his doctor's had told him he needed more "nutrients". She had been out on a business trip for the past two weeks and he knew they probably updated her on his health issues while she was gone.

Deep down he hoped that they hadn't, seeing the grey hairs littering her head just made him sick. She had enough to worry about without his own issues adding onto her own.

"Good morning sweetheart," He blinked meeting her warm eyes as he started to sit down at the kitchen counter. "Did you sleep good?"

He swallowed thickly. "No. I had trouble falling asleep again."

The pan sizzled as she lifted it off of the oven and ran it under some water. Jasper realised that the eggs where burnt to a crisp and silently thanked the gods for a good excuse not to eat.

"Maybe I should try to get one of your doctor's to recommend you sleeping pills again Jax. I don't want you to spend your entire life a walking zombie." She sighed shaking her head and opening the refrigerator.

He looked down at the counter choosing to remain silent. The last time he had taken sleeping pills he had been eight years old and entering his first few years of being a loner. It hadn't been a good time especially since he couldn't stay awake longer then ten minutes. Sleeping pills seemed like the worst of her recent suggestions.

"Looks like you have to breakfast from school again. Those where my last two eggs..." She trailed off closing the refrigerator with a loud thud.

He shrugged keeping his eyes away from her. Jasper had the feeling she knew something was up and decided to play it off. Maybe if she thought he was sick he could skip school today and avoid another day completely alone. Or else he could just hide in his closest again.

Both options began to sound very tempting at the moment.

"Where's Mayra?" He said deciding to change the subject before she asked him what else he wanted for breakfast.

A plate of apple slices was set in front of him and he scowled. Taking in a deep breath he nibbled on the side of the biggest slice eyes widening. It tasted surprisingly good compared to the usual mushy sour apples they usually got but sweet in a soft type of way. He took a big bite out of it as his mother sat down in front him.

"She's staying home today. Last night I had to pick her up from lacrosse practice early because she threw up again. I think it might be a stomach bug." She said taking a apple slice for herself and biting a piece off of it.

Mayra getting sick wasn't that strange to him. In the past few years his sister had begun to get sick easier, coming home with bruises all over her darkened skin, bloody noses, sniffles and wet coughs keeping them all up at night, it had become something he'd gotten used.  This was pretty normal to him but he understood why his mother would be nervous about it.

With her constant business trips and company meetings she barely had anytime to spend with them anymore. Of course this caused her to miss some important events in there life which he didn't mind all that much but he didn't know if Mayra felt the same. After all she had always been more of a daddy's girl when they where younger.

"Do you want me to bring her any cough medicine before you go." He sighed at the flash of guilt in her eyes and got up from his seat walking over to her. "It's fine mom I'll stay home tonight and watch her."

She bit her lip and the look she gave him broke his heart into pieces. In the back of his mind he swore to find his spoiled father and his trophy wife to beat them in the head with a chair. His mother shouldn't have to work so hard for them.

"Sweetheart are you sure? I know you and your sister have been having a hard time..." His mother trailed off his heart clenching.

"Mom it's fine. Mayra understands why your aren't home with us and if she doesn't I'll make sure she will." He made sure to whisper the last part not wanting her to hear the silent threat.

Seconds ticked by before she finally caved and reached into a nearby cabinet handing him a small pink pill bottle. It had a prescription on it so he made sure read the label, not trusting his sister to ate the pacific amount on the side, and put into his pocket.

•×

"Open up Mayra I got something to help with your stomach." Jasper said knocking on the cardboard and tape plastered door for what felt like the fifteenth time.

What sounded like a groan came from the other side along with the crackle of shuffling feet. He braced himself for whatever pale  sickly appearance she was in and hoped she wasn't in a bad mood. One thing he had learned over the years was that when his sister was in a bad mood everyone was in a bad mood.

The doorknob twisted to the side and the door cracked open revealing the girl's watery eyes. He shivered and watched as she looked him over with poorly hidden disgust in her eyes. She was definitely in a bad mood now.

"Give it to me." Her voice cracking at the end of her sentence as she winced in pain. A weak cough came from her body. "I feel like I'm dying."

"Sadly you're not." He said more to himself then her handing over two pills.

She looked at them suspiciously.

"It's not poison. I wouldn't try to kill you with something so tame." He said a small grin appearing on his face.

Marya stared at him with a dead look in her eyes and knocked her head back swallowing them in one gulp. She grimaced as the taste set in and turned a little green. He realised he hadn't brought her anything to take away the medicine's bitter taste and gave her a silent apology.

As much as he liked to torture his sister and tease her he didn't find any pleasure from it. To him it was just something to do though he knew nobody else saw it as that.

"My bad." Jasper said moving so he could look into her room. Instantly she moved to the side blocking his view with a fierce scowl on her face. "What? I can't drop in to say hello like we used to do?"

"What do you think." She said but he heard something else behind her that distracted him. Something that sounded like someone unlatching a window, someone in a hurry to escape from incoming discovery.

"Is someone in your room?" He said more then asked jamming his door into the door before she could slam it shut.

Pain blossomed in it and he could have swore that it was bleeding but that didn't matter right now. This had become a life or death situation and he wasn't going to let her risk there's for some stupid crush. His expression darkened as he watched her eyes widen with guilt.

"Are you trying to get us taken away by the authorities dummy? You know what they do to kids like us and you risk it all to hide someone in your damn-" He started to put his hands in between the crack opening it slowly. "-room! Move out of the way Mayra or else I'll rip this door off of it's hinges."

 _"_ _That_ _won't_ _be_ _necessary_ _."_

The voice. It sounded eerily familiar to him but he didn't know from where. A chill went down his spine and he walked threw the now partially opened door, his sister having moved out of the way to sit on her bed. Cold air hit his skin from the cracked window and his eyes met those of a hunched over figure's.

A boy. He didn't look much a older then nineteen but the scars covering his skin said otherwise. They where a angry red color some fresh while others looked like they where weeks or even years old. But that wasn't the shocking thing about him at least out of everything the boy appeared to be.

His eyes. His skin. His hair. It was all stunning to Jasper with a sort of foreign look to him. Black spandex covered majority of his body only cutting off in large cuts on his hips and shoulders.

In every single way he was simply stunning.

_Crap._


	3. Issue One: Chapter Two

**Chapter Two:**

Jasper closed the bedroom door with a soft click coming from the handle. He pressed his back against it not sure about what to do in this situation. By now Mayra had started to bandage the boy up, her small hands nimble against the gaping whole in his side.

Blood covered the majority of the walls and the once white carpet was now tinged in red. What looked like dog bites marred his sister's legs with puss covering the now healing wounds. He closed his eyes taking a slow calming breath and opened them only to be met with the same scene from before. Fear coursed threw his veins as the reality of the situation hit him.

He wasn't having a delusion this time.

"What is going on?" He asked finally after pinching himself a few times.

They both looked at him as if it where obvious. Mayra tightened the bandages around the mysterious boy's body one last time before giving a her brother a hopeless stare.

"Isn't it obvious dummy? We have to get Altair some help or else the wounds might get infected." She said in a hurry walking past him to a small white dresser, opening the top drawer in a quick yank.

His name was Altair, weird. And oddly it made him a tad bit more attractive than he was before.

Still this situation was hard to understand and now he had to worry about the authorities finding out about them. Or this guy could have already called the cops when Mayra wasn't paying attention and they could be on there way right now. It didn't help that he could have used his good looks to deceive his poor sister.

Jasper scratched his head, trying not to go into full blown panic. He needed to remain calm and find out what exactly was going on. From the looks of it Altair may have been in the bedroom since the night before if the blanket fort in the closet had anything to do with him. Meaning that maybe Mayra wasn't sick at all but planning to stay home in order to watch him.

"What happened to you?" He asked Altair looking him straight in the eye. His hand twitched, ready to grab the nearest thing to knock him out.

"I was attacked by a group of men." Altair said slowly his face twisting in pain. "They ganged up on me from behind and began to beat me. I almost didn't get away from them."

The teen frowned and moved closer towards the two in front of him. From what he could see there where obvious signs that he had been attacked with the scars and wounds on his body. However he knew there had to be more to this story, there's no way Mayra wouldn't just call a ambulance when she saw him.

No there had to be another reason. Mayra frantically wiped at the boy's wounds seemingly ignoring the large cuts on her own body. He found it hard to believe that his mother wouldn't see them causing him to frown. Could it be possible...no she wouldn't dare, right? He buried the thought back into the crevices of his consciousness and observed them.

"Does it help with the burning?" She asked her voice full of worry as she finished applying a bit of cream on his side. It was a pale peach color and held the scent of something from a cleaning kit.

Altair bit his lip and nodded looking as if speaking would cause him to just moan in even more pain. Sweat dripped down the side of his forehead with his body twitching ever second or so. Jasper watched the teen's growing unease with interest feeling his heart begin to skip a beat.

 _Not_ _now_ _._

"The guys who attacked him where from school Jax. Remember the kids that lived a few blocks from us a few years ago, always pushed us around and followed us home? Any of that ringing a bell?" Mayra said staring him straight in the eye.

Of course he remembered them. They had been the reason he hadn't been able to sleep without his windows locked and doors bolted shut. For some reason the boys had always been suspicious of his family for being "supers" or that they harbored them. Thankfully no one other than some neighborhood thugs took them seriously.

It made him sick to think that they'd actually this far and attack a stranger. He could still smell the strong scent of iron from Altair's blood. Sick to his stomach he allowed himself to shutter.

"Those creeps attacked him? Did they see you at all because then they violated our restraining order." Jasper whispered and Altair's ears perked up.

"You have a restraining order against them?" He asked his face full of shock at the meer thought of the thugs being that dangerous.

Mayra nodded sighing. "Yeah those guys always used to follow us around when we first moved here. One day they tried to break into the house but luckily our babysitter fought them off long enough for the police to come. I didn't think they'd start attacking random people though."

Jasper found it hard to believe to. They may have been violent but those thugs weren't stupid. Everything they did was always backed up by a plan and they made sure to do what they needed when no one was near. He remembered the countless times they cornered him in the bathroom during fire drills pretending that he ran off when really they dragged him away from class when his teacher wasn't looking.

But it was clear that Altair had been attacked and if Mayra was vouching for him he had no doubt she had seen some of the attack. Still it didn't sit right with him that something so horrible would happen just for no reason. The only attacks he knew of where against the supers they saw in action...

"You're like us." He said narrowing his eyes at the older teen. "They saw you use your powers and attacked you, didn't they?"

Altair stared guiltily at the floor as Mayra gaped and held her head in her hands. "Why didn't you say anything? Did you lie about everything else you told-"

"No."

The tone in his voice was firm but not angry despite the accusation thrown his way. In fact besides the shame in the older boy's eyes Jasper couldn't see him having displayed any other emotion during there entire conversation. This was absolutely unnerving for him and he felt a chill go down his spine.

This...boy was strange. He felt his body itch in eagerness to go up and touch his seemingly sick locks of ebony hair grow and grabbed his arm. The skin felt hot and brittle as if he had been burned by oil. Taking in a few breaths Jasper allowed himself to drift away from the conversation and into his mind for safety. If things kept going the way there where he had no doubt he'd go into a full blown panic attack.

Not only was a startling attractive "super" in his home but said boy had gotten them into the worst possible situation ever. And he knew Mayra had no stealth skills at all so she had to have been seen by the others and now they knew she was hiding a definite "super" in there home. His stomach turned and he instantly regretted eating earlier that morning.

"I was lost and scared Mayra. My powers activated due to my emotions I'm sure you know this from experience." Altair said watching the flustered girl struggle to argue with him. 

"Yes but still you could have told me that beforehand! My mom would have called the cops on you if she hadn't been asleep! Now I have to hide you from my mom and those nutjobs! Maybe even the cops!" Mayra practically screeched face palming. 

This could not be happening. Jasper felt his chest hurt and began to hyperventilate. It was like the world was about to collapsed around him and the urge to strangle his sister was at a dangerous level. He leaned against the wall and slid down onto the floor feeling like his heart would burst. 

He needed to lay down, take a breath and get his head cleared. But right now Jasper felt like he was two seconds away from drowning with his ears buzzing and lungs burning. Nails digging into his palms he wheezed falling forward as he coughed loudly.

"Oh shit! Jasper don't pass out!" He heard his sister scream running over to catch him just as his eyes closed.

•×

_"Does this happen to him a lot?"_

That voice. It was familiar. Jasper struggled to wake up as he felt someone brush his hair back from his forehead. It was wet with sweat and made his whole body feel disgusting. His arms felt like they were to big for him and his legs felt as if they where to small. Everything just felt so gross, so wrong.

_It's almost like I used it again._

His whole body clenched just at the thought of using his powers without his knowledge. What was a gift to some was something deep and sinister that he never wanted to ever let out without his eyes firmly on it. Bile rose up in his throat and he choked desperate to release the disgust from off of his body in one way or another. 

"Shit. Jax, lay your head to the side. I put a trash can down there just in case something liked this happened. " Mayra said her voice pained as she helped him onto his side patting his back.

Lumps of bile and half eaten apples came from his mouth into the metal can with a thud. Shaking he wiped his mouth with the back of his shirt's sleeve and leaned back onto the bed. His limbs felt as if they where made of tar as he could barely move them without shaking. Today was officially one of the worst days of his entire miserable life.

Jasper blinked sluggishly at the ceiling his eyes opening as he spared a glance to his side. 

"You had a panic attack." Altair said his voice hesitant as he wrapped up the now filthy trash bag. "I think my erupt entrance may have been the cause." 

_You think._

The teen shrugged trying to avoid the smell of vomit hutting his nose. "Yeah but mostly it was just me freaking about the whole gang leaders wanting to beat me type of thing."

Altair frowned his eyes crinkling. "They'll beat you and Mayra for helping me?"

Jasper shrugged wincing once he felt his stomach begin to churn again. He didn't find it that big of a deal as he'd been beat up plenty of times before but his sister was the poster child for clean records. She'd never been late to a class in her life, all her absences where excused and she was always a teacher's pet. He thanked God they no longer had classes together or he'd have to listen to her ass kissing once again. 

"They'll probably leave Mayra alone since she's a girl but they'll definitely beat me to a pulp." He said biting the bottom of his lip. 

The whole thing still felt crazy to him and he wondered how long they'd have to keep the strange boy hidden in there house. Hopefully not for to long. His parents had to be worried sick and maybe they had even put out amber alert for him. 

"Hey Altair," The nineteen year old turned looking at him questionably. "Aren't you worried about your parents trying to find you?"

Altair stared at his feet for a few seconds his eyebrows furrowed as he struggled to gather his thoughts together. His face twitch as he watched a flash of sadness go threw his eyes before he took a seat across from him. 

"No. My mom made me leave when they started to...things just aren't good where I live right now and I needed to leave." He said his voice low. 

He wanted to ask what he meant by "my mom made me leave" but chose to stay silent as he reminded himself once again they were complete strangers to one another. Crossing his ankles he turned around towards the door which now sat wide open. Panic flashed through his mind at the thought of his mother coming in and he struggled to get up and close it. By time he got on his feet Altair had already gotten pass him shutting the door.

"Your mother already left for work," He said smoothing a piece of his hair back behind his ear. "Mayra told me she was gonna order a pizza right before you threw up."

Jasper blinked processing the information as best as he could with his now slug like brain. He felt a tad bit guilty for not being able to say goodbye to his mother and frowned his eyes darkening.

"That's good I guess. Um how long was I unconscious?" He asked feeling his heart begin to beat faster at the thought of laying on the floor vulnerable to any touch, any power.

"For about a hour" He said casually oblivious to the growing panic on the other's face.

Oh god. He felt his stomach flip flop and he put a hand over his mouth. Jasper didn't know if he was having a panic attack again or if he was just in shock but fear coursed through his veins. An hour he had been virtually dead to the world and he had no idea why. The longest he'd ever been unconscious had been weeks ago a field trip to a theme park gone wrong and that had only been twenty minutes. Never had it been sixty full minutes. He needed...he needed to go lay down. He needed to escape from the world if only for a few minutes.

With a thought a second thought Jasper whipped around and ran into the bedroom's small bathroom. His senses were assaulted by the fragrance of violets and juneberries but he didn't care about anything other than hiding in the bathtub. He fumbled with the door locking it and slammed his body into the back of it panting. His legs turned to jelly and he fell to the ground his body shaking in fear and adrenaline. 

"Breath just breath Jasper." He cried feeling his body vibrate as his panic grew. "Please just breathe."

•×

_Oh_ _._ _God_ _._

Sweat dripped down the teen's body as he sat with his head against the rim of the bathtub. It's cool marble did nothing to help the growing fire that engulfed him, sending jolts of pain down his joints whenever he breathed. This had gone beyond panic and into full blown hysteria with his eyes moving around in his head at a rapid pace. The smells surrounding him where sickening and the bitter taste of vomit clung to his teeth. The nausea had passed about twenty or so minutes ago but he still felt the urge to pass out.

He didn't know if Altair had given up on trying to wedge the door open or if Mayra was currently standing with a broom ready to whack him in the head. Also he didn't know exactly how long he'd been on the floor, crying about how he couldn't control his own body and punching the ground but it was starting to feel like a eternity.  Slowly Jasper scooted back against the tub and pulled his knees to his chest. Everything felt disgusting and grimy on his body right now. 

A soft knock hit the door after a few minutes of him sitting crouched down on the floor, along with another yank on the doorknob. He licked his lips feeling the small cracks in the skin before letting his hands go through his hair. It was wet with swet and felt sticky amplifying the disgust he felt. The knocking got harder with each knock until he felt the door start to shake from the force. 

His mind was reeling at the thought of opening the door and being met with his sister's tired gaze or worse a look of shock from Altair. Jasper scowled and kicked his heels against the floor. That had to have been the worse first impression he had ever made on a guy, hot or not.

"Jax!" A groan left his lips as he recognized the voice and he let his arms fall limply to his sides. "Open the door!"

From the sound of her voice he knew Mayra had to be just as panicked as he was. The doorknob twisted back and forth going from being pulled to being pushed against the door with her body. A small part of him began to feel guilty for scaring her but he pushed it aside and curled into his body. He was scared for so many reasons right now and he needed to think even if that meant having another panic attack.

There was so much at stake here. Those thugs knew that Mayra was involved with Altair meaning they'd probably use every chance they could get to threaten her about him. Then they'd most likely threaten him afterwards and start to stalk them again. Restraining orders where nothing to guys like them. 

Scowling he allowed his legs to uncurl and stretch out against the floor. Hopefully he could find a way a to contact Altair's mother before worse came to worse and the had the police on there hands. He reminded himself that he didn't know the teen that well and he doubted Mayra did either despite claiming she did. Probably another one of her pen pals trying to run off from a broken home, ready to crash at any open house they could find. 

"JASPER KHALID MALLORY OPEN THIS GODDAMN DOOR OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL CALL MOM!" His eyes widened and he felt his heart stop.

_Oh...boy._

Slowly and with as much resistance as he would allow himself he stood up from off of the ground and stretched his muscles. His feet felt hot against the tiles, drenched in the sweat coating his body. He reached for the doorknob and twisted it thrusting the door open with a gust of hot scented air. 

In front of him stood Mayra with her arms at her sides and her hands wrapped around the ends of her shirt. She had changed clothes while he had been unconscious the torn T-shirt replaced by her signature plaid sweater and pants. He knew he should be happy that she managed to clean up the blood on her body but there was still the mess in the room to deal with. Hopefully they could finish cleaning by time there mom got home.

"So..." Jasper didn't know what to say at the moment. Saying something like " _Thanks for not letting me choke on my own vomit!"_ sounded to cynical at the moment. 

Mayra raised a eyebrow looking him in the eyes with a faint grimace going throw her body. He had been right, she looked as if he had died in the bathroom. The guilt he felt earlier returned but he didn't bury it this time it was better to let it fester and coil around his heart for now.

"What where you thinking?" She said finally after wiping at her eyes- Jasper noticed she had been crying wincing in the process- which had started to puff up a little bit on the sides. "Didn't you learn your lesson from the last time you freaked out like this?"

Of course he did. He just didn't want to remember that day or well  _days_ he had been in such a state. Still he could understand why she thought he was relapsing to his former depressive stats and he resisted the urge to slap himself. He did not need his mother finding about this especially with his sister thinking he was about to try and off himself again. 

"My bad." The words came out much more relaxed then what he would have liked causing Mayra to narrow her eyes at him. "I'm serious Mayra I'm fine."

"Sure you are." She said her voice as tense as he expected it would be and thrusted her hands in her pocket. 

The bedroom looked as if it had been cleaned from the bottom up with the damage being replaced by mop water and the fresh scent of bleach. He didn't see Altair anywhere near them and bit his lip tensing. A big part of him knew that Mayra probably let him wonder there house alone but he decided to take a breath and let his mind begin to clear.

His toes curled into against the floor feeling cold against it. He allowed himself to relax his muscles and leaned against a wall for balance. He still felt somewhat dizzy from the panic attack so he didn't want to risk passing out and hitting his head again. Or just passing out for that matter. 

"Do you want to just lay down?" Mayra asks helping him sit down on the floor, his back hitting the wall with a thud. "You're starting to look pale again."

Jasper opened his mouth to respond but closed it right after. As much as he didn't want to leave his idiotic little sister alone with some stranger he felt as his body was made of glass and one more jibe would send him shattering. The look in her eyes didn't help either with her glasses hanging off of her eyes just enough for him to see the raw determination and worry hidden in them. 

So with a look of defeat he gave her a nod and put his head in hands.

"Don't worry Jax I'll get you some water and your medication. Did you take any yet?" He stayed silent already knowing she knew the answer. "I'll take that as a no. Just don't... try to get up or anything right now. I'll be right back."

•×

The wait, even though it was only five minutes, was extremely nerve racking. Silently he cursed himself for not taking his medication that morning or the one before that or the one before that one. Hell he didn't even remember the last time he took his medication. It didn't help all that much anymore. 

Not when his mind went a mile a minute and everyone around him where such idiots. Jasper hissed clenching his teeth as he felt the urge to vomit again. Stupid withdrawal. Behind the door he could his sister and Altair talking along with the sound of cabinets slamming shut and the faucet being turned on. In the end she was the one getting medicine for him when that's the only reason he came up here anyway. 

Really bad irony. His headache was returning and the awful taste of incoming stomach acid filled his mouth. Yuck. God his entire body was working against him. The sound of his sister running up the stairs was like a blessing to his ears.

The door swung back open revealing a panting Mayra with a small orange bottle in pills in her hand. Immediately meeting his eyes she cursed and opened the bottle running over to him. The pills slipped put and she started to force them in his mouth. 

"Don't make me force you to eat them Jax." She hissed when he gave her a look. Slowly he opened his mouth allowing to the pills to fall into it and he began to chew grimacing. 

Mayra stared at him the whole time looking more than pissed at his display. He felt the urge to snap at her but chose to stay silent as the whole thing was actually his fault. And she didn't have to get the medication for him in the first place. So he did the only thing he felt was somewhat rational. 

"Thanks for helping me not throw up all over your pants again." He said earning him a scoff.

"Don't mention just take your medicine next time idiot. Pizza's downstairs when you want to get some."

 


End file.
